BG igniting again after energy price fall blow

Energy prices slumped this year as the global recession took hold, sending profits tumbling at gas and oil group BG.

But with the market for both resources now in full recovery, the immediate future is looking bright.

The company, which has made a string of discoveries off the coast of Brazil, reported a drop in profit to £838 million for the three months to September, down from £1.53 billion a year ago.

Nine-month profit is down from £4.2 billion to £3 billion.

But the 38% dive in returns was still better than City analysts were expecting. Revenue and other operating income slipped 32% to

£2.25 billion. BG blamed a 41% slump in oil prices and 62% dive in Henry Hub gas prices over the year.

Frank Chapman, the chief executive, was bullish. He reckons the integrated gas business and rising production levels provided "confidence in the outlook for the group's performance".

BG said it would start reporting results in dollars next year. Dividends will still be paid in sterling. BG is the UK's third-largest natural gas producer. The shares were down 25p to 1108.5p.

It is pumping 700,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 12 % from a year ago. In July, it delayed its 680,000-barrel-a-day production target for this year into the first quarter of 2010.